AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

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2013-14 AHL schedule unveiled

August 22, 2013

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today released the complete schedule of regular-season games for the 2013-14 season, the league’s 78th year of operation. The season, comprising 1,140 games, begins on Fri., Oct. 4 and concludes on Sun., Apr. 20; each of the league’s 30 clubs will play 76 games, 38 at home and 38 on the road.

Some highlights of the 2013-14 schedule:

• The 2013-14 regular season begins with five games on Oct. 4, including the defending Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins visiting the Rochester Americans. The Griffins’ home opener is scheduled for Oct. 18 vs. the Milwaukee Admirals.

• There are two new teams in the AHL this season, with the Iowa Wild beginning play in Des Moines as the top development team of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, and the Utica Comets hitting the ice as the primary affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. The Wild open their inaugural season at home vs. the Oklahoma City Barons on Oct. 12; the Comets begin with three road games before their home opener on Oct. 23 vs. the Albany Devils.

• Two outdoor games are on the 2013-14 AHL schedule: On Dec. 13, the Rochester Americans will host the Lake Erie Monsters at Frontier Field to kick off the Frozen Frontier in Rochester, N.Y. And on Dec. 30, the Grand Rapids Griffins will take on the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park in Detroit, part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival leading up to the 2014 NHL Winter Classic.

• The Rochester Americans will take a 12-day break from the AHL schedule to participate in the prestigious Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland, Dec. 26-31. This is only the second time that an AHL club has been invited to take part in the annual event; the Amerks skated to a third-place finish in 1996.

• The 2014 AHL All-Star Classic will take place Tue., Feb. 11, and Wed., Feb. 12. Details on the event will be announced soon.

• There are two nights on which all 30 AHL teams are in action: Sat., Jan. 11, and Sat., Feb. 22.

The 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs will once again see eight teams from each conference qualify for the postseason: the three division winners plus the next five teams with the best records.

The American Hockey League was officially born in 1936 when the Canadian-American Hockey League and the International Hockey League merged to form the International-American Hockey League (the “International” would be dropped from the league’s name in 1940). The AHL continues to serve as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 87 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 12th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2012-13. Through the years, the AHL has been home to more than 100 future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The entire 2013-14 AHL regular season schedule is available for viewing here.